Method and apparatus for forming a seam in a barrel or the like



Oct. 1, 1935. J. J. M GARRY 2,015,304

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FORMING A SEAM IN A BARREL OR, THE LIKE Filed March 24, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I. v I u v 4 f 2 1 11 .1

ATTORNEYS ot. ,-193s. l'lMoGARRY ,0 5,80

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FORMING A SEAM IN A EARREL OR THE LIKE Filed March 24, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR TTORNEYS Patented Oct. 1, 1935 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FORMING A Y SEAM IN A BARREL OR THE LIKE.

James J. McGan-y, Buflalo, N. Y., assignor to Niagara Machine & Tool Works, Buffalo, N. Y.,

a corporation of New York Application March 24, 1934, Serial No. 717,249 6 Claims. (01. 113-54) This invention relates to a method and apparatus for forming a Gordon or box seam between the two ends of a piece of sheet metal so as to unite the ends in the form of a tubular shell preparatory to the operations of forming the ends of the barrel to receive heads. The Gordon seam is illustrated in the Gordon Patent No. 631,487. Barrels having Gordon seams are largely used for one trip containers or for containers for materials other than liquids. The Gordon seam, in general, comprises T-shaped interlocking ribs provided inwardly from the edges of the sheets to be seamed together, the surplus material beyond the seam being left uncut. As heretofore made this seam was formed by pressing channels into the edges to be connected, inte'rfitting the channels, tucking the side walls of the channels by means of tucking rolls so as to bring them into contact with one another and then rolling down the crown of the seam. This necessitated a forming machine with rollers at right angles to one another, since the tucking rolls first operating were required to have .their axes projecting outwardly from the face of the sheet while the finishing roll was required to have its axis parallel or tangential to the face of the seam. This required a complicated drive and moreover required the provision of elaborate adjusting means, since careful adjustment'of the tucking rolls was required both to properly bring in the sides of the channel and also to insure the proper registry of the secondary roller.

It is one of the principal objects of this invention to provide a method of forming a Gordon or box seam which permits it to be rolled by pairs of rollers all of which have their axes parallel with one another and which are thereby driven by a simple gear train and also require adjustment in one direction. only and in which'the rollers of each pair are arranged on opposite sides of the plane of the sheets being seamed together. A further object of this invention is to provide such a seam which can be formed on either side of a barrel or the like, that is, on the inside or the outside.

Another purpose of the invention is to provide a seam which can be rolled without distortion of the work being operated on, that is, in which there is no tendency for the material to curve or belly in going through the machine.

Another purpose is to provide a method of rolling the Gordon seam which insures a tighter seam than with methods heretofore carried out. Specifically,

the present method holds and stretches the metal at the bends of theseam so as to secure tight interlocking whereas the tendency of the standard method of rolling this seam is to push the metal apart and spread, the seam. By providing a tighter seam in accordance with the present invention, the seam is not only less likely 6 to leak but the same is stronger and the containers less liable to be inJured in transit.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method which can be practiced with rolls of ordinary form and in which the machine 10 is of sturdy construction and will operate for a long period of time without getting out of order or requiring repairs or attention.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is-a. side elevation of a compound seam closing machine suitable for carrying out my invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary end view thereof, taken on line 2-2, Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section, taken on line 3-3, Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view of the two edges of a barrel shell showing the manner in which channels are provided preparatory to the seaming operation in the seam closer showing in Figs. 1-3. Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are fragmentary vertical transverse sections taken on the correspondingly numbered lines on Fig. 3 and showing the successive stages in closing the seam in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 4 showing the manner in which two channels are provided preparatory to the seaming operation with the modified form of rolls shown in Figs. 9, 10 and 11.

Figs. 9, 10 and 11 are views similar to Figs 5, 6 and '7 and showing modified forms of rolls which can be used for rolling the channeled form shown in Fig. 8 into a Gordon seam.

The seam made in accordance with the disclosme of Figs. 1-7 is illustrated in connection 4 with a barrel shell l0 having two edges II and I2 which are adapted to be united by the seam in accordance with my invention. It will be under stood, however, that the invention is not necessarily limited to forming barrel seams but can be practiced wherever a Gordon seam is desired. The preparation usually accomplished in a press with [dies (not shown) consists in the formation of two channels l3 and I4 along the adjacent edges II and I! of the barrel shell. One fits into r the other, as indicated in Fig. 4. In carrying crown I5 is arranged on one side of the sheet being seamed, while the base l8 of the channel is arranged on the opposite side of the sheet being formed and the base or legs of .the channel are connectedto the sheet by diagonal webs II. It will therefore be apparent that the preliminary forming of the shell provides a central channel which opens toward one side of the sheet and two V-shaped channels on either side of the centralchannel which open toward the opposite side of the shell. In forming the Gordon seam any material in excess of that required to form the seam simply projects beyond the seam, as indicated at I8. By leaving the excess material it is unnecessary to cut and trim the sheets to exact length and squareness as would be necessary with an ordinary lock seam. It will be understood that the excess material is rarely sufllcient to project out from theseaming when it is finally rolled and that the projection shown in the drawings at I 8 represents an exagerated condition.-

Channels formed as indicated in Fig.4, are interfitted and laid over the horn 20 of the compound seam closing-machine 2| illustrated in the other figures. This machine comprises a base 22 and a pedestal 23 rising from this base and from which the horn 28 projects outwardly in one direction. The pedestal is also formed to provide a head 24 which projects outwardly over the horn 20 so as to form a jaw between the head and the horn. In the outer end of the horn are mounted three non-power driven lower seam closing rolls 25, 26 and 21 and these rolls cooperate 1 with companion power driven upper forming rolls 28, 29 and 38. Each of these rolls is mounted with its axis horizontally disposed and extending at right angles to the major axis of the machine frame and the barrel shell travels successively between the companion rolls. The three lower rolls 25, 28 and 21 are mounted in a frame 3| which is removably mounted in the outer end of the horn 20. Each of these rolls is also individually adjustable as to height by 45- .head 24 and fixed to the shaft of each of these power driven rolls is a pinion 33. These pinions 33 are driven by intermediate gears 34 and 35 from a gear 35 fixed to a. cross shaft 31.

A large drive gear 38 is also fixed to the shaft 31- and this is driven by a pinion 33 on a main drive shaft 40. This drive shaft is driven by a pulley and belt connection 4| with an electric motor 42, this motor being also preferably mounted on the head 24. It will be seen that from this gearing the upper power rollers 28, 29

and 30 are all driven in the same direction and -then lined up with the rolls and the shell is pushed into the rolls by a pusher which comprises a push rod 44 having a head 45 adapted toengage the end of the barrel shell, a bell crank lever 48 for operating the push rod, a shipper rod 41 for operating the bell crank lever and a shaft 48 having a treadle at one end and a rock lever at its opposite end, the rock lever being con-- nected to the lower end of the shipper rod 41.

The first set of companion rolls 25 and 28 are best illustrated in Fig. 5. The upper power roll of this pair is of cylindrical form and has a central peripheral channel 49 which is of square form in cross section and the bottom of the 5 channel is preferably milled or knurled, so as to provide a traction face which draws the barrel shell through the seamer and discharges it. This milled or knurled face engages the crown l5 of the channel I3. The companion roller 25 of 10 this power roll 28 is of cylindrical form having a central V-shaped peripheral groove 58. The edges of the channel 50 are also preferably beveled, as indicated at 5|, so that the diagonally extending sides ll of the pre-formed channels are 15 led into the V-shaped groove 58 which draws these sides together, as shown in Fig. 5. In this preliminary rolling step the twochannels are interlocked and the sides I! of the channels are brought tight against the sides of the main cen- 20 tral channel. It is therefore apparent thatthis preliminary rolling provides two flanges 52 which are formed by closing the side channels in the pre-formed edges shown in Fig. 4.

In this form the partly closed seam passes on 25 to the second set of companion rolls 26 and 29. The upper power driven roll of this pair is of substantially the same form as the roll 28 having a central peripheral knurled or milled channel 53 which bears against the crown of the head and forms a driver. The lower companion roll 26 is provided with a central peripheral V-shaped groove 54, as with the firstroll 25 but this V- shaped channel is much shallower and the corners thereof are not beveled so that this roll 35 serves to press the flanges 52 upwardly and their edges into contact or abutment with one another.

The shell then passes on to the last pair of forming rolls 2'! and 30. The power driven roll 30 has a central peripheral knurled channel 55 40 as with the other powerdriven rolls and its companion lower roll is perfectly cylindrical. These two rolls complete the Gordon seam by pressing the abutting flanges 52 upwardly from the position shown in Fig. 6 to the fiat finished seam 45 shown in Fig. 7. In this last operation the material forming the seam is stretched so that a tight and strong interlocking seam is secured. This is efiected by butting the flanges 52 together in the second operation so that the final 50 operation is not merely one of bending these flanges up into position but is also one of forcing the flanges together and pulling, compressing and stretching the metal into a tight fit.

It will be understood that, especially with 55 lightergages of metal it is possible to perform the operation in accordance with my invention with two sets of rolls, eliminating the. central pair 28 and 29. However, three pairs of rolls are preferred to secure a tight and strong seam and 50 also to hold the sheet metal shell against being curved or bellied in going through the seamer, the three alining pairs of rolls holding the seam in a sraight line.

A modified manner in which the invention can 55 be carried out is shown in Figs. 8-11.

-In carrying out the invention, as shown in these figures, the two edges Ila and l2a of the unseamed barrel shell Illa are formed with U- shaped channels both of which project laterally 70 in the same direction from the barrel shell.- As shown in Fig. 8, these channels I31: and Na project outwardly and have a flat crown and straight sides. As in the other form of the invention these channels are preferably preformed 75 in a press with suitable dies and the excess material m is left uncut so that it is unnecessary to trim the barrel shell to an exact length before seaming it. s

The channels of the shell are interflttedand pass through three series of rolls, as in the preferred construction shown in Figs. l-Lbut the rolls are of somewhat different form necessitated by the different form of the channelspreformed in the shell. 'As best shown-in rigpii the power roll Ila, which corresponds to the initial power roll 28 shown in Fig. 5, is of cylindrical formand has a relatively deep peripheral channel Ila, thebottom of which is milled or knurled. It s-companion lower roll 25a is also of cylindrical form but is provided with a relatively deep V-shaped peripheral groove Ilia which is substantiallythe same width as the groove a in the'upp'er power driven roll "a. In passing between the companion rolls 28a and 250 the channels Ila and lid are .roll 29:: is of substantially the same form as the initial power driven roll "a but its milled central peripheral channel "a is shallower; similarly, its

companion roll 26a is of substantially similar-form to the initial lower roll 250: except that its central peripheral V-shaped channel No is shallower.-

When the seam passes between this second companion pair of rolls Ila and! the flanges 2a are forced upwardly into almost abutting relation and the crown of the channels is forced downwardly so that the'seam takes the form shown in Fig. 10.

The seam so formed then panes between the last pair of companion rolls film and 21a which correspond to the rolls 3. and. of the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1 -7 and are operated in like manner. The power driven roll "a is substantially the same as the other two power driven rolls 28a and 29a except that its central knurled peripheral channel 55a is the shallowest. The lower roll 21a of this pair, instead of being cylindrical as with the roll 11, is provided with a very shallow central peripheral channel I having beveled sides t I In passing through the very shallow channels 55a and I the Gordon seam is completed, the flanges 52a being pressed tightly together so as to force the corners of the crown into tight engagement and the crown of the bead being rolled down flat.

It is apparent with both forms of the invention shown that the Gordon seam is provided by a series of pairs" of rolls, all of which have their axes parallel to one another and at right angles to the line of movement of the barrel being seamed. In this manner the drive for the rolls is extremely simple and as compared with prior compound seam closers for Gordon seams eliminates entirely the complicated drive necessitated by the use of special rolls to bring in the sides of the channel and which have their axes disposed at right angles to the other rolls. Moreover, the present invention eliminates the necessity for complicated adjustments and requires only that the lower rolls be vertically adjustable.

It is also apparent that with both forms of the invention shown, the seam can be formed on either side oi. the shell, that is, on the inside or the outside as may be desired. Itis also apparcut that with both methods disclosed the seam the Gordon or box seam disclosed and which is 5 formed by providing the two sheets with channels or corrugations along zones spaced inwardly from the edges of the sheets and then pressing-the overlappedcorrugations into- 0 form so that the seam is composed of six thicknesses of metal.

I claim as my invention:

1. The method of forming a box seam composed of six thicknesses of metal which comprises displacing a narrow zone of a metal blank in one direction to form a corrugation spaced inwardly 5 from one edge thereof and composed of a crown and side walls, similarly forming another metal blank, placing the corrugation of one blank within the corrugation'of the other blank, applying 1 pressure to the top of the outer crown and to the 30s opposite face of the inner blank to displace the interfltted corrugations bodily in the direction opposite from which they project and to displace the side portions of said interfitted corrugations toward one another and in converging relation. 35.

thereby to provide apartially formed seam, and

further applying pressure to the top of the outer crown andto the opposite face of the inner blank to flatten said partially formed seam.

2. ,The method of forming a box seam com 0 posed of six thicknesses of metal which comprises displacing a narrow zone of a metal blank in one direction to form a corrugation spaced 111- wardly from one edge thereof and composed of a crown and side walls, similarly forming another metal blank, placing thecorrugation of one blank within the corrugation of the other blank, passing said blanks between a pair of rolls, one applying pressure to the top of the outer crown and the other to the opposite face of-the so inner blank, said rolls displacing the interfltted corrugations bodily in the direction po te from which they project and displacing the side portions of said interfltted corrugations toward one another and in converging relation thereby 55 to provide a partially formed seam and thereafter passing said blanks between a. second pair of rolls one of said last rolls applying pressure to the top of the outer crownand the other to the opposite face of said inner blank, said last named. pair of rolls flattening saidpartially formed seam.

3. The method of forming a box seam composed of six thicknesses of metal which comprises displacing a narrow zone of a metal blank in one direction to form a corrugation spaced inwardly from one edge thereof and composed of a crown and side walls, similarly forming another metal blank, placing the corrugation of one blank within the corrugation of the other blank, passing said blanks between a pair of rolls each roll hav- 10 ing a peripheral groove in line with said corrugations one applying pressure to the top oftheouter crown and the other to the opposite face of the inner blank, said rolls displacing the interfltted corrugations bodily in the direction op- 15 pair of rolls one of said last rolls applying pressure to the top of the outer crown and the other to the opposite face of said inner blank, said last 10 named pair of ,rolls flattening .said partially formed seam.

4. The method of forming a box seam composed of six thicknesses of metal whichcomprises displacing a, narrow zone of a metal blank in 15' one direction to form a corrugation spaced inwardly from one edge thereof and composed of a crown and side walls, similarly forming another metal blank, placing the corrugation of one blank within the corrugation oi the other go blank, passing said blanks between a pair of forming members one applying pressure to the top oi the outer crown and the other to the opp'o-' site face of the inner blank, said forming memi bers displacing the interfltted corrugations bodily g5 in the direction opposite from which they project and'displacing the side portions of said interfltted corrugations towardone another and in converging relation thereby to provide a partially formed seam and furtherapplying pressure to a -;the top of the outer crown and to the opposite face of the inner blank to flatten said partially formed seam.

5. A compound seaming machine for rolling a box seam composed of six thicknesses of metal a :from preformed blanks each having a narrow.

pairs of forming members in succession, one forming member of the first pair being formed to apply pressure to the top of the outer crown and the other being formed to apply pressure to the opposite face of the inner blank, said 5 first pair of forming members displacing the interfltted corrugations bodily in the direction opposite from which they project and displacing the side portions of said interfltted corrugations toward one another and in converging relation thereby to provide a partially formed seam, and

v a subsequent pair of said forming members being formed to further apply pressure to the top of the outer crown and to the opposite face of the inner blank and flatten said partially formed seam.

6. A compound seaming machine for rolling a box seam. composed of six thicknesses of metal from preformed blanks each. having a narrow zone displaced inwardly from one edge thereof 0 inform. a corrugation composed of a crown and side walls and the corrugation of one blank being placed within the corrugation of the other blank, comprising a frame, a series of pairs of rolls mounted in said frame with their axes 5 parallel to one another, means for propelling the interfitted blanks between said pairs of rolls in succession, one roll of the first pair being formed to apply Pressure to the top of the outer crown and the other being formed to apply pressure to the opposite face of the inner blank, said first pair of rolls displacing the interfitted cor-- rugations bodily in the direction opposite from which they project and displacing the side portions of said interfltte'd corrugations toward one another and in converging relation thereby to provide a partially formed seam, and a. subsequent pair of said rolls being formed to further apply pressure to the top of the outer crown and to the opposite face of the inner blank and flatten 40 

